Audible spam

[ezdays]

Just wondering how many of you out there are constantly getting robo-dial calls? We have been on the "do not call" list ever since it first began. That doesn't stop them we frequently get a half-dozen or more calls everyday. I guess we get them because we are home most of the day and we are on the list of being retired and possibly an easy mark. A few of my favorites start out:

• >(man shouting), "The FBI Says..."
  >(woman), "This is to inform you about your credit card..."
  >(woman), "Hi, this is Rachel..."
  >(man), "Someone you know has ordered and paid for an emergency notification..."
  >(man shouting), "Attention power company users..."

And my all time favorite is this human calling:

• >(hard to understand man), "This is Microsoft support calling to tell you that you have a problem with your computer, sir..."
  

Any of the first ones, I normally hang up before they get through the first line, but those Microsoft guys, I like to keep them on the line and jerk them around for a while just to see how stupid they really are.

Do any of you here get these same kind of calls and how do you deal with them when you do? Most are untraceable and some originate out of the country and legal action would be out of the question, although some people have been successful in suing these guys.

[nachoman]

YES!!!!!!!

There has been one calling every day, sometimes 2-3 times per day while I am at work. It's too stupid and leaves a voice mail, but it's cut off halfway through so I don't even know who it is. I think it is for a medical alert something or other. And another one used to bother me for a security system.

I'm getting rig of the land line soon. So maybe that will solve the problem.

[teejay]

We pretty much know who is calling our house ...if the number , or name on the display is not recognizable we don't answer . If they ( spammers ) are phoning us , it isn't successful .

T

[e-paw]

I get plenty of the same thing.. If I don't know the number that comes up on my caller I D,,, I just let it ring.

[ezdays]

Our problem is that we don't have caller ID, and so we have no idea who's calling. It could be a friend or family, or even the doctor's office, so we answer every call. If there's a long pause before anyone speaks, we most likely will hang up, but even some of our doctors use a robot to confirm appointments.

We were even blessed with one of those "grand parent" scams a while back. "Grandpa, this is your favorite grandson, I'm in (pick some foreign country) and I need your help..." You are then asked to wire money to bail this kid out, or to pay medical bills or fines of some sort. Typically, they expect you to answer, "is that your Johnny?", and now they have a name they can use. I kept pressing this kid for a name, and finally he blurted out "Michael", which was a very poor guess on his part. :o

We just gotta get caller ID.

[Tyson Rayles]

I don't get those calls but I am on the "Do not call" list.

[Charlie B]

I was getting quite a few from the same number, and with caller ID I got the number and filed a complaint. Robo calls are illegal so you do not have to be on the do not call list to file a complaint. I have been filing them for every call. I am retired and enjoy doing the FCC's work for them.
Actually I believe there is no reason they can't stop these calls, but it is so much like government to think all they need is a law, you don't have to enforce it.
I even get them on my cell phone but I reject them. I'm not paying for them to spam me if I can help it.
Sign on to the do not call list once more just for good measure. I was signed on it for 3 years, but this time it seemed to really help. Maybe the list puts new added numbers if red so the lawbreakers have a fresh list

[Tyson Rayles]

Sorry, the post duplicated for some reason.

[ezdays]

I don't get those calls but I am on the "Do not call" list so that's probably why.

We've been on that list since day one, and we get them regularly. Sometimes just being in the phone directory is enough. You are very fortunate my friend, because they've found they can ignore the list and there are no consequences.

[teejay]

There must be a ton of these characters phoning if it is that widespread .......can't see how their business can prosper .

T

[ezdays]

I can't see how they can prosper either by getting most of the world mad at them. I guess they're playing the odds that if they can snag one person in 100,000 calls, it's a good day.

If the phone company would charge these guys for each call at some long-distance rates like they used to do, that would cut things down appreciably. It's a pity that these guys can make a million calls a day to all over the country or even the world, and probably pay less than I would for a single call from Phoenix to the east coast. Secondly, the phone company allows them to spoof their phone numbers so you can't trace the call to anyone. Hey, I'm sure they would try anyway, but the phone companies need to put some basic protection in place to protect against this. The same thing with "cramming". They shouldn't be allowed to have a third party charge something to your phone bill without you giving permission first.

[FiatFan]

I just received an application for a new credit card in the mail yesterday. In the fine print the form stated something to the effect that by providing my phone number I was authorizing them, their business partners, and independent third party contractors to call me, including the use of automated calls.

I'll stop with that as I don't want to vent my anger at credit card companies here.

Tom

[ezdays]

I just received an application for a new credit card in the mail yesterday. In the fine print the form stated something to the effect that by providing my phone number I was authorizing them, their business partners, and independent third party contractors to call me, including the use of automated calls...

They are really tricky when they do stuff like that since the do-not-call rules allows then to call with your permission, or if you've done business with them. I got a call yesterday while I was composing this thread. It was from an auto glass company that said I was a previous customer and wanted to know if I had anymore chips or cracks in my windshield that needed repairs. Well, they knew that was a lie since the last time I had any windshield work done was around 1965. I just told him that, "no, but if I did, I wouldn't use you guys since you did such a lousy job last time"... I think he got the message that I knew he was just using a list of names that they purchased.

I was reading a article that said that the, "Hi, I'm Rachel...", call could be from any one of a bunch of companies. Apparently the rent time on the robo-dialer, which, if you press "1", you are transferred to one of their salespeople. It also said that if you respond, you are asked for your credit card number and they will charge you for services that you can basically do yourself for nothing, or they don't do anything...

The feds asked a few months ago for the public to give them ideas on how to stop this flood of phone spam. Hey, what are we paying them the big bucks for? Still, nothing changes and these spammers get bolder...

[MountainMan]

Just wondering how many of you out there are constantly getting robo-dial calls? We have been on the "do not call" list ever since it first began. That doesn't stop them we frequently get a half-dozen or more calls everyday. I guess we get them because we are home most of the day and we are on the list of being retired and possibly an easy mark. A few of my favorites start out:

• >(man shouting), "The FBI Says..."
  >(woman), "This is to inform you about your credit card..."
  >(woman), "Hi, this is Rachel..."
  >(man), "Someone you know has ordered and paid for an emergency notification..."
  >(man shouting), "Attention power company users..."

And my all time favorite is this human calling:

• >(hard to understand man), "This is Microsoft support calling to tell you that you have a problem with your computer, sir..."
  

Any of the first ones, I normally hang up before they get through the first line, but those Microsoft guys, I like to keep them on the line and jerk them around for a while just to see how stupid they really are.

Do any of you here get these same kind of calls and how do you deal with them when you do? Most are untraceable and some originate out of the country and legal action would be out of the question, although some people have been successful in suing these guys.

To begin with, I never answer calls that have an 800 series number on the caller ID. If an actual human gets through, I take them apart the moment they start their spiel. Then I tell them I will do them a favor and they will do me a favor. They won't ever call again because we are on the Federal no-call list, and in return I will not turn them in for the violation. I get almost no repeat calls from those folks.

They're wasting my time, so they're mine to do with as I please.

[Sumpter250]

I have a standard response to these callers.
" Collective, this is Command, signals follow immediate execute, Foxtrot, Oscar, Alpha, Delta,.... Standby, Execute! ", and hang up....


The government's " Do Not Call List " is a sad, sad, joke.